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I watched a little documentary that lasted a whole ten minutes based on average pay-grade of actors in American tv shows.

Now, considering trek was not a majority watched show, but rather a minority watched show, I will keep my answers to the 'average' instead of the upper pay grades. However, I personally believe they would get the lower grades mentioned in the doco. (example: most watched tv shows elad actors usually get 7000 a week average, trek leads would not)

Lead actor, as in, the ONE lead actor: between 1500 to 3000 a week

Dedicated mains: Between 800 to 2000 a week

Additionals (seen in almost every episode but not considered main): between 300 to 1000 a week.

Now not every actor got a 10 hour work day for most days of a week, no that's not true. Some wouldn't even work an hour at all in a week depending on the script. So hourly average is hard to get. (but trust me, 10 hour days is no hard task....I used to work 12 hours a day in a metal fabrication company, harder work, harder hours)

As for average television show filming times. Guess what, many 20+ episode seasonal shows, only took 90 (average, some go over 100) days of a year, sometimes only 60 to film an entire season, then they go do other projects or jobs until the year after and do another season.

So base pay really isn't really that great when you think about it barely being for a third of the year. The money that supports tv actors when not going onto doign other shows, movies or projects is from royalties(if the contract allows), convention appearances and general marketing themselves to fans.

TV is not movies....they do rarely make you a millionaire with mansions unless you are constantly in many different tv projects.

Now not every actor got a 10 hour work day for most days of a week, no that's not true. Some wouldn't even work an hour at all in a week depending on the script. So hourly average is hard to get.

Of course, that isn't how it is handled. Signed as a main cast member, you get a contracted amount that is usually over the number of seasons the contract runs (they often want to sign the actor for as many as possible and minimize chances to renegotiate at higher pay, whereas the actors would often go for a shorter commitment to maximize those chances or bail out if they aren't getting enough of the spotlight). That is sometimes further broken down to per-episode in the course of negotiations, but not usually to a greater level of granularity than that.

__________________"You can pulp a story, but you cannot destroy an idea! Don't you understand, that's ancient knowledge. You cannot destroy an idea! That future, I created it, and it's real! Don't you understand? It is REAL! I created it and IT'S REAL!"

Plus you have to consider they only worked a steady job for 7 years, most of the time after that they're looking for work. They only really have a short window of time to make money, then factor in their bills, morgage and most have family and children to support.

So in the end, they're as broke as you & I.

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A Tiger doesn't loose sleep over the opinion of sheep.

Plus you have to consider they only worked a steady job for 7 years, most of the time after that they're looking for work. They only really have a short window of time to make money, then factor in their bills, morgage and most have family and children to support.

So in the end, they're as broke as you & I.

No way man. Most Americans don't know how to look after their money, but I can assure you the ones that are super wealthy know how to look after it because they hire financial advisers.

Plus you have to consider they only worked a steady job for 7 years, most of the time after that they're looking for work. They only really have a short window of time to make money, then factor in their bills, morgage and most have family and children to support.

So in the end, they're as broke as you & I.

No way man. Most Americans don't know how to look after their money, but I can assure you the ones that are super wealthy know how to look after it because they hire financial advisers.

That wouldn't be any of these guys.

They've shown John Billingsly's home inside & out on the Home Design Network about two weeks ago. Living large, he is not.

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A Tiger doesn't loose sleep over the opinion of sheep.

But just because someone has the financial means to afford extravagant lifestyle, doesn't necessarily mean they will actually go for it.

Who says that actors appearing at cons and such are using it to scrape in some more money?
Sure, the money is an extra bonus, but the primary motivation behind these appearances might be other than money.

Point is, we don't know for sure.
Not all financially set or rich people are alike, nor do they all think in the same capacity.

__________________
We are who we choose to be but also have predefined aspects of our personalities we are born with, and make art that defines us.

But just because someone has the financial means to afford extravagant lifestyle, doesn't necessarily mean they will actually go for it.

Who says that actors appearing at cons and such are using it to scrape in some more money?
Sure, the money is an extra bonus, but the primary motivation behind these appearances might be other than money.

Point is, we don't know for sure.
Not all financially set or rich people are alike, nor do they all think in the same capacity.

If you ask certain ones like Robert Picardo or Ethan Philips, they'll tell you exactly that.

Trek isn't shown on any major network, before Voyager they were all on syndicated stations. You're not going to get the pay rate is if you're on NBC or ABC. Even Sarah Michelle Gellar didn't make big bucks doing "Buffy" on the WB, something which she's spoken about in great detail on radio interviews.

Even so, check out the cost of living in Southern Cali. Mulgrew might get by but her co-stars aren't. If Garrett Wang bought an apt. in NYC with what he made from Voyager, he would of had to move out of it all these years later because he wouldn't be able to keep up with payments.

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A Tiger doesn't loose sleep over the opinion of sheep.

Hmmm. $60K per episode for Mulgrew? With 161 episodes over 7 years, that adds up to something over $9.5 million. And, I think she negotiated an increase for the last two seasons. $20K per episode for Wang? Poor thing, he'd only make $3.2 million.

All that is before taxes and before their agents got their cuts, of course. And a million isn't what it used to be, so they say.

Hmmm. $60K per episode for Mulgrew? With 161 episodes over 7 years, that adds up to something over $9.5 million. And, I think she negotiated an increase for the last two seasons. $20K per episode for Wang? Poor thing, he'd only make $3.2 million.

All that is before taxes and before their agents got their cuts, of course. And a million isn't what it used to be, so they say.

However, I might be able to get by on a salary like that!

I remember reading somewhere that between taxes, agents, "people," etc--they net about half the gross pay.